Space Race
by baao
Summary: A regular trip to Thunderbird Five soon proves to be a disaster for two members of the family; will they get home in time?
1. Chapter 1

**So here's my second story for The Thunderbirds! It's another multi-chapter fic, though probably won't be as long as Of Umbrellas and Brothers. And fear not! I haven't abandoned OU &B but I need some time to get some ideas for it, though I've still got a bunch of chapters written so there'll still be regular updates! Hope you enjoy this fic, and let me know what you think!**

 **This fic is also a belated birthday present for my best friend Starkid-McFly (I hope I got her username right) but she knows who she is!**

 **baao**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds though I really, really, really wish I did.**

Chapter One:

It was a routine trip to Thunderbird Five for Alan and Scott Tracy; John was due downtime so Alan and Scott had to take Thunderbird Three up into space to switch the two brothers and then Scott had to escort John back down to Earth. It was a trip that they had done many times before, and the journey was going as smooth as ever as Thunderbird Three broke out of the Earth's atmosphere and into the glittering world of space.

As per usual, Scott was allowing Alan to take the lead – it was Alan's 'bird after all – and Scott would fly himself and John home again afterwards. Alan was chattering away about cars which his elder brother didn't really understand, nor particularly care about, and so Scott was gazing into the dark void that was the home to his immediate younger brother.

"So Scotty,"

Scott turned his head to look at his youngest brother at the mention of his name.

"How does it feel to not be in command at this point in time?" asked Alan, with a cheeky grim plastered across his face.

"A breath of fresh air," replied Scott, grinning, not allowing Alan to have the satisfaction that it was somewhat unnerving for the eldest Tracy brother to not be in complete control at the moment.

"Sure, sure" said Alan dismissively and with a wave of his hand "I can see the tension in your face, Scooter. You're wishing you were flying this beauty."

"I'd rather be flying my 'bird actually, Sprout. Space was never anything particularly special to me – I don't understand how you and our stargazing brother do it."

"Do what?"

"Spend weeks and weeks up here. I'd much rather be in the skies on Earth."

Alan frowned before continuing: "it's not too bad... I mean, I miss Grandma's cooking when I'm up on Five, but at least I'm relatively safe from Gordon's pranks way up here."

"One plus for you two, then, though I bet you get hit extra hard when you get back. I wouldn't risk it if I were you." answered Scott, with a slight grimace at the thought of his trouble-making brother's antics back on Tracy Island.

"Yeah, well, I can always get him back."

"Sure," replied Scott with a laugh, "I'll leave you to your plotting whilst I call John with our ETA."

Alan merely shrugged whilst Scott put in the call to their blond brother.

"Reading you, Scott, what's up?" answered John, promptly.

"Just keeping you up to date with our ETA; should be docking at Five in approximately 50 minutes." replied the eldest Tracy.

"Sounds good, Scott. I tell you what, I can't wait to get back home – I ran out of coffee three days ago and I'm dying for a Soy Skinny Macchiato."

"Each to their own, Johnny," laughed Scott "Alan'll be relieved to know I packed more supplies for Five and I did manage to include coffee."

"Shame you didn't do that for me last time," grumbled John whilst Alan cheered in the background.

Scott laughed and replied: "I'll bare that in mind for next time, Johnny. I'll call you when our ETA is minus 10 minutes."

"FAB Scott," said John with the final traces of a frown just leaving his features, "but before you go, Alan needs to know there's a group of asteroids heading in your direction very soon. You should miss them, but the flight could get a little rocky. We'd need to wait here on Five until it's passed before we can head back home."

"FAB John, we'll be with you soon." responded Scott before signing off. "You get that, Al?" he asked.

"Sure did, Scooter. We'll be fine with an astronaut like me around!"

"Yeah, yeah, kid, don't get too cocky."

"Fine, fine..." mumbled Alan, and the journey continued in silence for half an hour. Scott was about to radio in with John with their new ETA when Alan's voice cut through the silence.

"Er, Scott, we may have a little problem..."

"And what's that, Alan?" asked the elder of the pair.

"The asteroids may have arrived earlier than expected and-"

Alan was suddenly cut off by a tremendous bang and the entire ship shook with the force.

"Don't panic, Alan," commanded Scott, "use the radar to pinpoint their positions and fly around them – I know you can do it."

Alan nodded and began fumbling with the dials in front of him whilst Scott called base.

"Thunderbird Three to base, come in."

"Base here, what's the problem, Scott?" answered their father, Jeff.

"We seem to have hit a group of asteroids. Alan's going to fly through but I need you to call John for me. I need to help Alan." informed Scott.

"Consider it done; call me when you're through."

"FAB sir,"

Scott ended the call with Tracy Island and changed his focus to his youngest brother. Alan looked stressed as he tried to steer through the almost overwhelming number of rocks with the ship being hit once more.

"Calm, Alan," reinforced Scott as they avoided yet another very close call with a particularly nasty looking asteroid.

"Right, calm," breathed Alan is response and narrowed his eyes in focus.

It seemed as if they were nearing the end of the group and Scott took a breath of relief which may have been done a little too soon as suddenly, an asteroid slammed itself into Scott's side of the vessel.

"Sorry!" cried Alan, "I couldn't -"

Before Alan could finish his sentence, an enormous asteroid took its chance to rocket into Thunderbird Three. Small explosions burst all around the Tracy brothers as the 'bird struggled to deal with the impact.

Another asteroid took the chance to fly head-on to the 'bird, which suddenly felt very small to Scott, and before he could warn Alan, everything went black.

Jefferson Tracy waited patiently for his eldest son to return his call. He hoped that Alan and Scott had avoided all the asteroids, and John had seemed confident over the radio that Alan could evade everything.

However, it had been over 20 minutes since Scott had called him; Jeff was now starting to worry. Turning to face his sons' portraits, he put another call in to his eldest son.

He waited for an answer for a minute, then another, and then another but there was still no answer and Jeff had no choice but to give up.

"Dad?"

Gordon's voice cut through Jeff's reverie and he raised his head to look at his fourth-born.

"Yes, Gordon?"

"Everything okay? I haven't heard from Allie yet and I thought they'd be at Five by now." asked Gordon, coming fully into his father's office.

"I hope so. Scott called in about a group of asteroids headed their way, but John seems to think Allie could get through."

"And now you're not so confident?"

"I can't raise an answer from Scott or Alan, and Scott promised to call me back when they were through." replied Jeff, running a hand over his face.

"Maybe they're not through yet..." suggested Gordon.

"I doubt it – it's been almost half an hour and the group apparently wasn't that large. I'll call John and see if he knows anything."

Dialling his second-eldest son, Jeff could only hope that Gordon was right.

 **What did you all think? Let me know in a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's chapter two! Hope you all enjoy this one whilst I discovered that Rammstein is great writing music! Also, I didn't realise that Space Race is the title of an episode until after I gave the fic a title! This fic isn't related the episode at all!**

 **baao**

 **Chapter Two**

Scott began to stir after a soft whimpering to his right began to infiltrate its way into his subconscious. Groaning, his raised his hand to his face only to open his eyes and the wet, stickiness he felt at his temple. Glancing at his right hand, he groaned once again as he saw it covered in bright red blood.

The whimpering persisted, and Scott finally turned to see his youngest brother curled up on the floor next to his seat, clutching at his right leg.

"Allie?" he croaked at the shaking figure.

"Scott?" came the reply through the sobs, and Scott leant forward in order to see the problem clearer. Well, as clear as his could through the fogginess of his mind and the blurring of his eyes.

"You okay, Sprout?" he asked, wincing at the stupidity of the question. Of course Alan wasn't alright – they'd just been hit by countless asteroids and now his baby brother was crying on the floor of his own ship. What a stupid question.

"My leg's stuck," replied Alan, his voice hitching "and my arm hurts and I'm scared, Scotty."

Scott forced himself to move out of the confines of his seat and he lurched forward to be with Alan on the floor of Thunderbird Three. He winced and his hand clutched at his chest as the pain ignited there. Cracked ribs, probably, he decided. But that could wait – Alan needed him.

"Stuck how?"

"There's a chunk of metal on it – I can't... I can't get it out!"

Alan sounded borderline hysterical, and Scott knew he needed to calm the youngest of the five down, and fast.

"Deep breathes, Al. I'll see what I can do."

As carefully as he could so as not to disturb his ribs, Scott slid down onto his stomach and reached under the dashboard to see if he could get Alan's leg out. Grunting with the effort, he managed to lift the metal that was trapping his brother and managed to ground out a "move it now, Alan!" before dropping it once again.

Righting himself, he looked at Alan to see the young man breathing hard as he grasped his ankle with his good hand and blinking hard as the tears threatened to fall from his already brimming eyes.

"Let me look, Al," said Scott gently as he reached towards his brother. Alan reluctantly removed his hand as Scott's hands carefully felt around the joint.

"Broken, I think, but we'll let Virgil be the judge of that. Anywhere else hurt?"

"My arm," sniffed Alan, "and my head."

Shuffling forward, Scott took Alan's left hand in his and glanced at the colourful bruising that was painting Alan's forearm. Feeling the bones, Scott concluded it was probably just sprained but he couldn't be sure without Virgil's extensive medical knowledge. Finally, he looked into Alan's eyes but the pupils seemed to be reacting properly, so Scott could only hope that his youngest brother had escaped a concussion.

Stumbling to his feet, Scott headed towards the back of what remained of the ship and grabbed the med kit that was now hidden behind an array of sparking wires. He searched through it once he was back with Alan, and found a sling for his arm and tried to strap up his ankle as well as he could with the supplies he had. Taking a few painkillers and a bottle of water which had rolled across the floor of the cabin, he then gave them to Alan to take in hopes it would make his brother feel a little better.

"Alright?" he asked Alan, resting his hand on Alan's shoulder.

"Mmm," mumbled Alan as a reply, quickly followed by a rather loud hiccough which echoed in the confined cabin they found themselves in.

Scott gave Alan a few moments as he dragged himself back into his seat with a groan and surveyed the damage that had been done unto Alan's precious Thunderbird.

The cabin looked war-torn, with wires and electrical equipment falling out of the walls and part of said walls looking like they'd collapse any second. Scott hoped the outside looked better than the inside, and he prayed it was still flyable considering everything that had been done to the poor ship. The only blessing Scott could take was that the windscreen hadn't so much as cracked under the impact of the last asteroid, and it seemed that the vessel was just as airtight as it had been when it was built. Suffocating in here would just be the cherry on top of this entire mess, Scott thought to himself.

"Scott?" came Alan's small voice after a little while of sitting in silence.

"Yeah, Sprout?"

"Are you okay?" Alan asked, still hiccoughing.

"I'll live," replied Scott, "I just look a bit of a mess right now."

Scott prayed he only looked bad – Alan was relying on him to get them both home again, and whilst Scott's head was pounding and the world kept frustrating blurring in and out of focus and his chest felt like it was on fire, Scott felt he had gotten away from this mess relatively well.

"What are we going to do?" asked Alan, quietly.

"Call Base, let them know what's happened. Then I'll try and fly us out of here. John's going to have to stay up on Five a little longer but we can get him as soon as Brains and Virgil have managed to fix up your 'bird. Try not to worry, Allie. It'll be alright." assured Scott.

"Shall – hic – I call Base?"

"No, no, don't worry, I'll do it," replied Scott, gently.

Blinking hard as to clear his vision, Scott raised his wrist and called his father.

* * *

Jeff had never answered a call so fast in his life when he saw the incoming call from Scott. He was barely back in his office chair when he started speaking to a fairly startled Scott.

"Reading you Scott, what's happened?" he demanded.

Scott seemed to take a moment to get his thoughts together, and Jeff frowned at the smeared blood that decorated the side of his eldest son's face.

"The asteroids hit us..." said Scott, slowly "Three is damaged but I think she's still flyable."

"And you two?" asked Jeff, hurriedly.

"Alan's a bit worse for wear; I think his right ankle is broken and he's sprained his wrist and arm... I'm fairly confident he's avoided a concussion but I can't be sure – he says that his head is hurting him. I've given him a couple of painkillers to help him but I need to get him home as soon as possible."

"And you, Scott?"

"Oh, I'm alright. Just a superficial cut on my temple and maybe a couple of bruised ribs – nothing to be overly concerned about." Scott replied, dismissively.

Jeff sighed; it was typical of Scott to underplay everything but it did sound like Alan had been pretty badly hurt and required medical attention quickly. If Scott was prepared to fly them home, Jeff would find it impossible to argue with him and prioritise his own injuries.

"Can you fly?" finally asked Jeff.

"Definitely," answered Scott with something that was supposed to resemble a grin but came out as more of a grimace, "I'll get Allie settled then I'll head back to Base. Can you call John again for me? I want us to get moving as soon as we can."

"No problem son, just get you both home safely."

"FAB Dad,"

With a click, Scott signed off and Jeff leant back in his chair. This was not the way the changeover between John and Alan was meant to go and now his youngest son was hurt and his eldest was looking anything but perfect.

Realising that John needed to be notified; Jeff turned his attention to his second eldest son and heard the dialling tone as the call connected. This was not going to be a fun conversation, thought Jeff to himself, miserably.

 **Gimme some lovely reviews please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Can't believe the response I've had for this fic already - it's overwhelming! Thanks again and enjoy!**

 **baao**

 **Chapter Three**

"Reading you, Base, any news?" John answered hurriedly. He had picked up as soon as he saw his father calling and he could only pray his father had news about Scott and Alan.

"The asteroids hit them," came Jeff's tired voice "they're okay, but Scott says Alan's pretty hurt so he's going to fly back to Base. You'll be okay up there for a few more days, Johnny?"

"Of course!" replied John "are you sure they're okay, Dad?"

Jeff sighed before responding: "Scott has told me what he thinks Alan's injuries are, but hasn't disclosed much about himself. Says he's just cut his head and bruised his ribs, but I never trust Scott's opinion about his own wellbeing. Either way, they need to get back down here so Virgil can take a look at them."

John leant back in his chair at the news that his father gave him about his eldest and youngest brothers. Whilst it was not uncommon for Scott to be illusive about any injuries he may have obtained, it didn't make it any less concerning, and for Alan to be hurt as well... Well, that just made it worse considering it was their baby brother.

"You okay, John?" asked his father, seeing the distant look in his second-eldest son's face.

"Yeah, yeah," replied John distractedly "just concerned..."

"I understand. Look, I'll call you again in a bit – I've got to explain everything to Virgil and Gordon. You'll be okay?"

"Just keep me updated, Dad."

"No problem son."

Jeff finally signed off and John allowed a breath of frustration to escape him. The whole situation was an absolute disaster that should never have happened. The asteroids shouldn't have hit so early – he should've seen that the asteroids were approaching faster so Alan could've avoided them. John couldn't deny the tendrils of guilt which had forced their way into his mind, and he now wholly felt responsibility for this mess. Maybe he could've been more vigilant; tried to track the asteroids further, then Scott and Alan wouldn't have been hit so suddenly. Whilst rationally John knew there was nothing anyone could've done, he still felt the aching pull of guilt on his heartstrings.

Finally standing, John moved to make himself a more calming drink and prayed his father would update him soon on the situation with his two brothers.

* * *

Meanwhile, Scott was attempting to move Alan into a more comfortable position. The teen had been adamant that he was fine where he was, but Scott knew better and if he stayed like that on the floor, he would be even more uncomfortable than he was already.

Gently pulling Alan to his feet and supporting him to his own seat, Scott couldn't help but let a small gasp escape him as more pressure was placed on his ribs.

"Scott?" Alan's voice was no more than a whimper as Scott forced him to move across the cabin.

"Fine," Scott ground out, firmly. He practically dragged Alan to his seat and pushed him down into the seat. Alan had a layer of sweat covering his face, which was paler than ever, and Scott feared his baby brother was going into shock. It would be unsurprising considering the situation, but it was something Scott really didn't need right now.

Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Scott found a blanket that had previously been hidden by some fallen machinery and covered Alan with it. Reminding Alan not to fall asleep, he sat himself down in Alan's seat and started pre-flight checks.

Kicking the engines into life, Scott could've cried when he heard the 'bird flare up and whilst the dashboard was flashing warning signs left, right and centre, Scott remained confident that he could get the craft home again.

Turning Three slowly around again, he carefully set off en route to Tracy Island, breathing a sigh of relief when the GPS still worked and allowed him to type in the correct coordinates. They flew in silence, only small whimpers escaping Alan when the journey got a little rocky and minute gasps of pain leaving Scott when something jarred his chest. Alan seemed dead to the world, and Scott kept checking if the teen was still awake when he went too quiet; to his relief, Alan was seemingly remaining awake and gazing into space as a way to distract himself from what had happened.

The journey was going well until a sharp pain arose in Scott's chest and he felt the overwhelming urge to cough. Glancing at Alan, Scott let out a harsh cough and tried to not let Alan notice his struggles. He tried to take a deep breath in order to clear his throat, but a stabbing pain made itself known instead and Scott was hard-pressed to not let out a noise to vocalise his pain. Breathing, something that should've been easy, suddenly seemed a lot harder and his breaths came in rasping pants which he tried to keep as shallow as possible as to avoid the burning pain further.

Coughing once more, he felt a warm liquid enter his mouth and he gagged at the metallic taste. He looked discreetly at Alan once more before turning his head to the side in order to spit out the mysterious liquid. He spat onto the smooth floor of the cabin and was horrified at the bright red blood that was exiting his body in most definitely the wrong place. Scott felt more trickle down the side of his mouth and he quickly wiped it away, coughing slightly once more. He took a wheezing breath in and prayed they'd get home soon – he did not want to find out how long a potentially punctured lung could last in a vessel which could exert a ridiculous amount of G-Force on the human body.

* * *

"Dad?" Gordon asked, quietly.

"Mmm?" was Jeff's distracted response as he gazed out into the sunny sky above their private island.

"Any news?"

"Scott's bringing them home now... Virgil needs to get the medbay ready for them both; I've already sent him to the infirmary with Brains to get everything sorted for their arrival." answered Jeff.

"Are they okay?"

"Nothing that can't be fixed, I'm sure."

"And John?" persisted Gordon.

Jeff sighed and turned to face his fourth-born. "He seems stressed but not overly so; I fear he'll start to blame himself as they were coming for him when the accident happened."

"Surely he can't think he's responsible for this?" asked Gordon, horrified.

Jeff shrugged and replied: "He might, you know your brother, but I hope he'll be sensible and realise it was just a freak accident."

Gordon went to respond to his father when Scott's voice cut through on the speaker.

"Thunderbird Three to Base, requesting permission to land."

"Permission granted, Scott. We'll see you in a moment. Don't leave the 'bird – we'll come in to help you out."

"FAB," answered Scott and signed off.

"Dad..." said Gordon, breaking the silence that had fallen in the office after Scott's call, "he doesn't sound so good."

"I know Gords... come on, let's go get them out of that machine – and grab Virgil on the way; he'll want to be there."

 **Good? Bad? Let me know! (Also, sorry for the cliffhangers!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Finally an update! I'm really sorry about the delay but I've been super duper busy with life in general. My muse seems to have come back now though, so hopefully the next update won't be such a long wait! Anyway, enjoy!**

 **baao**

 **Chapter Four**

Virgil raced towards the hanger where Thunderbird Three was now landing, albeit rather shakily, and prepared himself for what he might see inside. He would be lying if he didn't say he was shocked when his father informed him and Gordon about the accident Scott and Alan had had aboard Three but, professional as ever, Virgil had done what he had been told and prepped the infirmary for his two brothers.

He arrived at the hanger just before Gordon and his father; the flames from Three's engine hadn't even gone out yet and Virgil was scrambling over to the hatch in order to see to his brothers. Impatiently stabbing at the keypad which would give him entry to the 'bird, Virgil practically fell into the crumbling ship and rushed towards to cockpit, briefly registering his brother and father following him at a similar pace.

Shoving open the suddenly stiff door – he presumed from the impact – he stumbled into the mess that used to be Thunderbird Three's cockpit.

"Scott? Alan?" he called as he made his way forward, gingerly stepping over the wires that lay scattered across the once spotless floor.

A grunt came from one of the two figures at the front of the ship, though Virgil was fairly certain that it was Scott. He approached his eldest brother who was lolling back in his seat, blood caking the side of his face only to be swatted away.

"Go to Alan," mumbled Scott, "'m fine for now..."

Virgil frowned at Scott's slur but he knew he wouldn't be able to do anything unless he heeded Scott's wishes and dealt with their youngest brother first.

"Allie?" he asked as he turned to face his youngest brother.

"Virg?" whimpered Alan, raising a white face that was almost completely covered by the thick blanket that had been thrown haphazardly over him, most likely by Scott. Smiling softly at Scott's concern over his brother's wellbeing despite the situation, Virgil pulled out a medkit and started to exam Alan.

He was so absorbed in his work that he didn't hear Gordon and their father clamber into the ship; Jeff approached Scott whilst Gordon hung back in concern, not wanting to be in the way. At the back of his mind, he could hear a murmured conversation happening behind him but he paid it no mind as he assessed Alan's injuries and tried to treat him for shock.

Finally rising, he summoned Gordon forward and together they helped Alan clamber onto the stretcher that their father had produced. Nodding to Gordon, Virgil allowed his father and brother to cart Alan away whilst he attended to Scott, who was still slumped in his seat. Knowing that Gordon would be back in record time, Virgil needed to get Scott sorted before then as he knew their eldest brother would be far more elusive about his injuries if Gordon was there too than if it was only Virgil.

"Scott?" he asked, crouching down next to his eldest brother's seat.

"Mm?" answered Scott, sounding tired.

"Are you ready to make a move to the infirmary?"

"I suppose..." came Scott's weary response, tinged with a slur that continued to concern Virgil.

Virgil hesitated before asking the next question, concerned as to what Scott's response would be.

"Do we need to wait for Gordon or do you want to try on your own?" he finally asked, expecting Scott's answer to be a firm "no".

"No, 's fine... I can walk..."

Before Virgil could even step in to help, Scott was staggering to his feet and beginning to stumble in the vague direction of the door. Jumping to his feet, Virgil raced to aid Scott just as his brother's legs began to buckle and he quickly started to drop to the floor. Virgil grabbed Scott's flailing arm which had been flung out to the left in a weak attempt to steady himself and assisted his brother in righting himself as they slowly but steadily approached the exit.

* * *

To say that Virgil was concerned would be an understatement. It had taken far too long for him and Scott to reach the infirmary but due to Scott's stubbornness (which Virgil didn't usually mind in any other circumstance, but in this case it was anything but helpful) the two brothers had to take the journey extra slowly in order to accommodate for Scott's evident injuries. Whilst he knew Scott would try and deny that he was even slightly hurt, Virgil had a sneaking suspicion that he would ultimately win the battle over whether Scott was in pain considering how much Virgil was having to take his elder brother's weight as they approached the infirmary and how much Scott was panting and wheezing with the effort of putting one foot in front of the other.

Finally opening the doors to the infirmary, Virgil deposited Scott onto a bed and turned to face his youngest brother who was curled up with their father, who was mumbling calming nonsense to him in an attempt to sooth him.

He approached the bed and was relieved to find that Brains had treated most of Alan's injuries, and was currently wrapping Alan's considerably swollen ankle.

"How's everything?" he asked Brains, needing to know the status of his youngest brother before he could start with Scott. Whilst he knew Scott was in dire need of medical attention, he also knew that Scott would allow nothing to be done to help him if he didn't know what was wrong with the family's baby.

"B-b-broken left ankle w-with torn ligaments a-a-and tendons in the f-foot, s-sprained right wrist and I t-t-think mild c-c-con-concussion. He will need t-to be m-mon-monitored to b-be sure..." Brains replied, still concentrating on binding Alan's ankle and foot.

Virgil sighed in relief, aware that Alan's injuries could've been a lot worse. Ruffling Alan's hair as a comforting gesture, he smiled at Brains in gratitude before heading back to Scott who currently had a frazzled Gordon fussing over him.

Gently nudging Gordon aside, Virgil pulled out a penlight and began to shine it into Scott's eyes, starting the arduous task of treating their eldest sibling.

* * *

Gordon had silently moved out of Virgil's way as the family medic stepped forward to deal with Scott. Biting his nails nervously, Gordon didn't feel it was a good idea to voice his concerns about their older brother to Virgil as he worked. Despite knowing that Scott was in good hands, Gordon couldn't help but fear for his recovery. He had tried to calm Scott as soon as Virgil had left to check on Alan, but his elder brother didn't seem particularly aware of what was going on around him. Getting a coherent sentence out of him had been an impossible task, and every time Scott attempted to speak, the words were stunted by wheezing and coughing that sounded wet and painful. Gordon had only been able to hold Scott's hand and give him reassuring words that he was fairly confident fell on deaf ears.

Moving aware from the bed as Virgil finished checking Scott for a concussion and muttered concerning words like "severe" and "unresponsive" whilst he moved down to remove Scott's shirt to assess any damage to his chest. Gordon settled for sitting on the edge of Alan's bed whilst Brains moved leftover medical equipment that littered the bed after treating Alan's grossly swollen ankle.

Gordon realised he must've looked more concerned that he intended to as he was suddenly shaken out of his reverie by his father squeezing his arm comfortingly. Dragging his eyes away from Virgil's back, he made contact with Jeff who was still cradling his youngest son. Despite everything, Jeff managed a weak smile at Gordon, which he presumed was meant to be a consoling gesture. He couldn't return it, however, and glancing at Alan's still shaking form, Gordon wasn't sure what the outcome of this disaster for the family would be.

 **Not a lot seemed to happen there, but at least you didn't get left with a cliffhanger! Anyway, let me know what you thought - good or bad!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yay, I finally got around to writing this chapter! I really am so sorry about the huge wait, but real life can get in the way a lot (annoyingly). I've had a surge of inspiration for this story so hopefully updates will get a little more regular again, and I promise the fic will be finished! I hope you all enjoy this chapter - it's mostly just angst but then, I know a lot of you enjoy that!**

 **baao**

 **Disclaimer: nah, still own nothing...**

 **Chapter Five**

Alan was glad for calming Gordon's presence at the foot of his bed - without it, Alan wasn't sure how he would've coped with everything. He could see Virgil and Brains fussing over Scott whilst their fathered hovered uncertainly between the two beds. He could hear Virgil mumbling medical terms to Brains which the youngest Tracy was desperately trying to ignore but it was hard when each diagnosis became more concerning and any silence was filled with muttered curse words.

Brains was stoic as ever, calmly fixing monitors and attaching an array of wires to the eldest brother with steady hands. Alan glanced at his own; the skin was a stark white, the red and blue veins contrasting with the paleness and creating a map on the back of his hand. Clenching his fists, Alan attempted to conceal the shaking that had taken over his entire body, but was forced to uncurl the fingers once again with a wince as his injured wrist protested angrily to the movement.

Gordon glanced at him, concern burning in hazel eyes at Alan's movement and despite Alan's silent shaking of his head to indicate he was fine, Gordon moved closer to him.

"Dad," addressed Gordon, his voice slicing through the tense atmosphere in the room, "is there any chance of some more painkillers for Alan. He said earlier he hadn't had any since the initial impact."

Jeff had jumped out of his reverie upon hearing his son speak to him, and smiled sympathetically at his youngest.

"I'll have a look around for something - I can't risk anything stronger; Virgil is in charge of that, but I'll see what I can do."

Jeff headed over to the far corner of the room, and Gordon turned to Alan, smiling softly in reassurance. Alan could only meekly nod in response and wanted to do nothing more than sleep and pretend none of this had happened, though he was more than aware that he couldn't since he hadn't received the all clear from Virgil yet. Since Virgil was somewhat preoccupied with preventing their brother's early demise, Alan would just have to wait it out.

Despite his silent reassurances to himself that Scott would be fine regardless of what had happened in 'Three, Alan could feel the thin tendrils of panic working their way into his mind the minute he had even thought about the fact that Scott actually could die from this. His mind had been a constant battlefield of worry, fear, and guilt ever since the asteroids had collided with his Thunderbird, and at the moment, Gordon's calming presence was the only thing stopping any of those three from winning and consuming him. He worried and feared for Scott, he was still in shock from the accident and the fear there lingered, haunting him despite leaving the wreck over an hour ago, but more than anything, Alan felt crippling guilt.

Whilst realistically, he knew that Scott would never blame for what had happened - neither would any of his family - and that no one could've seen the asteroid field hitting so early, not even John, yet Alan still felt solely responsible. It was him who was tasked with getting them through, and he had failed. Not only that, just minutes before Scott had been scolding him for being cocky and Alan's arrogance and over confidence had led to his brother's pain.

Even after the initial impact, Scott had still put Alan before himself and treated Alan with as much care as he could offer, something which may have caused even more suffering on his part, and Alan now, with the shock slowly leaving him as he received treatment and safety, felt the need to blame himself begin to choke him.

His thoughts were interrupted however by their father presenting two small, white pills to him with a glass of water. Taking the medication silently, Alan slowly sipped at the water, the coolness of it helping relieve his pounding head somewhat.

"How are you feeling now, Sprout?" asked Jeff, softly, his concern and worry evident in every aspect of his being; his face looked older, more tired, and Alan could've sworn he'd sprouted a few more grey hairs.

Alan blinked away tears that embarrassingly had begun to swim in the corners of his eyes from exhaustion and overwhelming guilt, but just as he was about to answer, the silence was broken.

* * *

The sound of Scott's coughing had shattered the silence that had been smothering the infirmary on Tracy Island; the choking, desperate breaths were punctuated by wheezing gasps as a barely conscious Scott struggle to inhale the oxygen he so desperately needed.

Virgil had actually jumped backwards in surprise; the violence of the coughing fit had caught him off guard as he'd been so focussed on treating the bloody gash on the side of his elder brother's head. Despite recovering from his initial shock in a matter of seconds, Virgil found himself still half-leaning backwards to avoid the sudden spray of blood that had erupted from Scott's mouth. Brains acted quicker than the middle Tracy did, and swiftly rolled Scott onto his side, despite his meek protests and groans, to prevent him choking on his own blood.

The coughs had mostly subsided shortly afterwards, as Scott found his breathing easier in this position, but Virgil was more than aware that it wouldn't last. Nodding at Brains to continue treatment, Virgil turned to face the rest of his family.

"Virgil," his father began, his face pale and eyes weary, "what's going on?"

Virgil took a deep breath, running his hands over his tired face, though not realising that this action smeared his brother's blood across his worn features.

"Brains and I are going to need to operate. It looks like internal bleeding - most likely a perforated lung - and it needs to be fixed immediately in order to avoid any lasting consequences."

Virgil delivered the news bluntly, too exhausted to realise that perhaps he should've softened the information in order to protect his siblings, especially Alan who was particularly vulnerable at the moment. Ignoring the look of horror on Gordon's face, and gasp of shock from Alan, Virgil kept his eyes steadily on his father. He felt a sigh escape him as the Tracy patriarch nodded in understanding and thus allowing Virgil to do what needed to be done, whatever the risks may be.

Virgil turned back to Brains, and offered a weak smile. Scott had drifted into unconsciousness and Virgil knew it was time; Scott had saved all of them on countless occasions, and now Virgil could return the favour.

 **As per usual, let me know what you thought in the reviews! I know not much happened, but the story will pick up again, I promise!**


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